I have always had a huge issue with code signing for BlackBerry applications. For almost a decade code signing has been a hugely frustrating and annoying barrier to entry for new BlackBerry developers while providing marginal security improvements. Hell it used to cost $200 for code signing keys. As far as I have been able to research all code signing does, at least until the BlackBerry PlayBook, is prove that the code you are installing has not been modified since the developer signed it. In other words it provides trust (aka Integrity) though even RIM can see how laughable of a security model that is all by itself. I am not necessarily against code signing but the benefits have to outweigh the cost. More on that later.

One of RIM’s devs, Mark, was kind enough to detail the current past and present of code signing for all BlackBerry devices on the RIM DevBlog. He even tries to explain why it is of value especially on the BlackBerry PlayBook. The two major additions RIM did with code signing on the BlackBerry PlayBook is use part of the code signing key to protect the data your application can access and another was to add debug tokens to allow you to test unsigned code on an actual BlackBerry PlayBook. It is nice to see that code signing is getting easier and I truly hope it becomes as simple as pie without 14 different steps no matter how easy the wizard. I just want to stress how important it is for RIM to streamline this process until there are no longer flooded in their support forums with developers frustrated with the code signing process. (Just take a look to see what I mean)

Code signing certificates mainly provide the ability to verify that the application you installed is coming from the developer without any modifications. It does not tell you if the developer is somebody you should trust or if they just plan on stealing all your data. Hell all RIM even does is just verify a developers information with their credit card company. This is semi-redundant on the BlackBerry PlayBook since RIM plans on restricting PlayBook app installations to App World only unless you sideload your app. That means RIM already authenticates that the application you are installing comes from that developer. They do this by making developers jump through hoops to register for App World and verify their identity. So why do we need to double verify that fact? Also it is laughably easy to get a code signing key from RIM so it does not stop you from trusting bad developers since they can just as easily sign their code with another key.

The code signing keys also provide little value to developers especially PlayBook developers. It does not protect your application code or make sure that another developer cannot simply unzip your .BAR install file (for WebWorks and Flash apps) compile the app again and sign it with their key. That sort of makes the whole Debug Token security model another painful step that does not add as much value as the painful setup scheme it requires. It gets even worse if you lose your key and can no longer update your app until it is reinstated or want to share your key with other developers you are working with.

This model is even more flawed on BlackBerry smartphones where code signing is not even required for apps to run unless they need access to protected APIs. Also they can be installed from any source which is probably why RIM started with the code signing model. It allows RIM to centrally revoke a developers ability to sign new code. The thing is that developer could have many more code signing keys that they could just as easily sign malicious code with. If anything part of RIM’s improvements to streamline code signing has been to make it easy for ANYBODY to get a code signing key.

All in all it seems like code signing is simply maid to deter lazy crooks instead of providing the level of benefit that would justify the high toll it takes on BlackBerry developers. The question is if RIM can simplify this process to make it less painful or at least justify the cost by adding actual benefits. I understand that RIM wants to protect users from imposters signing code or impersonating another company but the security it offers against that is not that hard to bypass. All it does is make sure the code signer cannot be anonymous but a malicious dev could easily obtain a stolen credit card number and purchase a code signing key especially since nobody would notice the $1 code signing authorization charge.

My dream is that RIM finds a way to create a 3 step wizard that within 10 minutes sets up your development environment, requests and installs your code signing keys, and sets up your App World vendor account. I am truly hoping Mark and his team can make that a reality ASAP… Since right now that process is measured in hours-days instead of minutes. You can see the advancements RIM has made in the last year below but hopefully RIM overhauls the whole system so we don’t need www.isthesigningserverdown.com anymore:

• Made code signing keys easier to obtain by removing the credit card requirement for ordering them
• Reduced the order time for code signing keys from 7-10 days to approximately 1-2 hours so you can start building right away!
• Created Configuration Wizards to walk you through configuring and backing up your keys
• Automated many previously manual steps by integrating Debug Tokens into the SDKs
• Updated the hardware for our code signing servers
• Created the Code Signing Support site to walk through the ordering, configuration and signing process

Let me know what you think! I would love to be proven wrong…

If you liked this article, you might find these interesting:

• RIM Processing Free Code Signing Key Requests Faster?
• BlackBerry Developer Code Signing Keys Now FREE!!!
• RIM Apologizes for Code Signing Server Outage
• Ongoing BlackBerry Code Signing Servers Issues & Outage
• RIM Simplifies Requests for Replacement Code Signing Keys

Posted by Ronen Halevy for ©BerryReview, January 26, 2012, 5:42 pm. | RIM Details Their Roadmap for Code Signing – Still Seems Relatively Useless | 8 comments |

I hate to categorize TechCrunch as “The Media” but RIM definitely has a perception problem/bias with some media outlets. Its almost like anything RIM does whether good or bad gets a negative spin. This was clearly made apparent in a live Ustream by Andrew Keen and Jordan Crook from TechCrunch at CES yesterday. As the old Latin phrase says In vino veritas (“in wine there is the truth"). You can clearly see what I mean if you skip to the 40 or 41 minute mark in the video below.

Personally I think this stems from RIM’s Canadian roots where they are just too damn nice. They need to start kicking ass and taking names with back to back launches starting with PlayBook OS 2.0 to BB10. They need both actions and words to turn the tide.

If you liked this article, you might find these interesting:

• Jibe Mobile Private Beta – Chat & Share With Friends
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• Canadian Carriers Kill Cellphone Cost Calculator… Surprised?
• Zoho Mobilizes Their Website – Document, Calendar, & Email Tools

Posted by Ronen Halevy for ©BerryReview, January 11, 2012, 1:54 am. | What RIM is Up Against? (In Vino Veritas) | 65 comments |

People tell me that I am pretty blunt via email but I consider it a form of efficiency. That is why I was pleasantly surprised when a friend sent me an article from Entrepreneur by Ross Mccammon that seemed to mirror my sentiments about email etiquette. I absolutely love his philosophy of brusque emailing and making a call when email is impractical.

I highly recommend reading the whole article over at the Entrepreneur but here are a few highlights:

• "What Would Robert De Niro Type?" Here’s how it works: You get an e-mail. You read that e-mail. You respond to the e-mail as if you were Robert De Niro. You will find that your e-mail responses will involve messages like "Sure" and "Great" and "Yes" and "No" and "Perfect" and "Come on" and "Sorry."
• "Just because you receive an e-mail doesn’t mean you need to reply by e-mail,"
• You might not receive a 500-word e-mail that ends with the worst question of all time: "Thoughts?"
• Ask yourself if you would CC yourself. Easy with the CC.
• If your message is less than seven words, put it in the subject line.

I plan on forwarding this one to quite a few contacts…

No related posts.

Posted by Ronen Halevy for ©BerryReview, December 29, 2011, 10:06 am. | Are You a Brusque Emailer? Let Us Know Your Email Etiquette! | 5 comments |

Every few months another “Anonymous High Level RIM Employee” seems to pick up the phone and call the BGR to share some doom or gloom. The latest entertainment comes from one of BGR’s “most trusted sources” who is also a “high-level RIM employee.” Here his some of the latest inflammatory tidbits out of this anonymous source who still seems to be working at RIM…

1. “…the PlayBook 2.0 OS developers have been testing is a crystal clear window into the current state of BlackBerry 10 on smartphones. No email, no BlackBerry Messenger — it’s almost identical”
   • This high level employee must have very limited access. I have actually used PlayBooks that have native email, contacts, calendar, etc (ActiveSync) though he is right about BBM. Still even RIM has said that native BBM is coming later…
2. “Email and PIM is a better on an 8700 than it is on BlackBerry 10”
   1. Wait a minute. I thought there was no email or PIM?
3. “We also have some more background on why RIM’s BlackBerry 10 smartphones are delayed, and it has nothing to do with a new LTE chipset that RIM is waiting on…” “RIM is simply pushing this out as long as they can for one reason, they don’t have a working product yet.”
   • This “High Level RIM Employee” must have not been allowed to play with the Colt before it was made a dev-only device. Once RIM decided they needed LTE to make North American carriers happy they realized they would either have to stoop to Android LTE device battery horrors or wait for Qualcomm.
4. “RIM is betting its business on a platform and ecosystem that isn’t even as good as iPhone OS 1.0 or Android 2.0.”
   • That is a pretty strong statement to make without any explanation. Keep in mind iOS 1.0 did not even have third party apps and Android 2.0 did not have pinch to zoom in the browser…
5. “There’s no room for a fourth ecosystem”
   • Says who?
6. “and DingleBerry also works on BlackBerry 10.”
   • It all depends on what you call BlackBerry 10… It is public information that it quasi works on the PlayBook OS 2.0 beta.

All in all this seems like some linkbait but its always entertaining. Still it is way to early to pass any judgment on BlackBerry 10 phones especially when RIMs announced timeline has it coming in the 2nd half of 2012. RIM should have had BlackBerry 10 or whatever you want to call their next generation platform ready way before 2012 but they definitely have a chance to reclaim their glory. Now it is all about proper execution.

PS: I still think it couldn’t hurt if RIM hired a large team of “Ass Kickers” whose main job is to cut through the red tape and release products faster…

If you liked this article, you might find these interesting:

• FAQ: High Level Fact Sheet Comparing BIS To BES
• New High Level Apps & Games Categories in PlayBook App World
• Open Letter To RIM Senior Management from Supposed High Level RIM Employee
• Profile Assist Changes Your Settings Based on Location, Time, or Battery Level
• ReportAway! BlackBerry Time & Expense Tracking With QuickBooks Compatible Time Export

Posted by Luis Merlos for ©BerryReview, December 22, 2011, 12:09 pm. | Love in the Time of “Anonymous High-level RIM Employees” | 16 comments |

Over the years since Apple started their app craze I always felt that most of these apps were poor excuses for Low-Fi website frontends. I am not talking about games but rather actual apps. This has not stopped more and more apps from being released on multiple platforms fragmenting things further and further. HTML5 holds some real promise in bringing the full power of the web with app-like benefits. The reason is pretty simple and Dave Winer sums it up perfectly in his rant on “why apps are not the future” by simply stating the obvious advantage… “Linking”

Visualize each of the apps they want you to use on your iPad or iPhone as a silo. A tall vertical building. It might feel very large on the inside, but nothing goes in or out that isn’t well-controlled by the people who created the app. That sucks!

The great thing about the web is linking. I don’t care how ugly it looks and how pretty your app is, if I can’t link in and out of your world, it’s not even close to a replacement for the web. It would be as silly as saying that you don’t need oceans because you have a bathtub. How nice your bathtub is. Try building a continent around it if you want to get my point.

It seems like RIM is definitely agreeing with Winer on this one. They are putting a huge emphasis on a solid web browser and HTML5 support as their future app platform for BB10. Even on the PlayBook and other devices I find myself preferring solid websites over apps that try to replicate a subset of a websites features. I think Andy Gryc, QNX’s HTML5 guy, does a great job explaining why that makes a difference even to car manufacturers in this video:

Desktop Video Link | Mobile Video Link

I would take Winer’s argument one step further. The future cannot sustain the current model where every developer or service needs to create apps for every platform and form factor out there. The number of devices and fragmentation grows by the day making the “Apps” model untenable and linking them impossible. Developers are already feeling the strain of trying to launch features on multiple devices at the same time. Think of apps like Foursquare that need to first add a feature and then roll it out to all the different device variants out there with a service that would be better served as a HTML5 website or a bundled webapp.

What do you think?

If you liked this article, you might find these interesting:

• Clarification: Adobe AIR/Flash Apps & Android Player Apps to Run on BBX
• RIM Touting HTML5 Capable WebKit Browser, Will it Finally Bring Mobile Web Apps?
• Can Ad Supported Apps Performs as Well As Cheap Paid Apps?
• RIM Explains BBX OS Strategy – Native SDK & HTML5 Apps Will Be forwards Compatible
• Will the BlackBerry PlayBook Browser Replace Most Apps?

Posted by Ronen Halevy for ©BerryReview, December 14, 2011, 8:51 am. | The Web, Not Apps, Is the Future | 15 comments |

With every up, there is a down.  It is just how life works.  Not everything you love is perfect, and that poses the question of when does one out weigh the other? The issue I seem to be having is JVM errors and White Screen of Deaths! (WSD).

There has been a lot of buzz going around about dead 99xx  devices.  People having them completely bricked when they wake up.  Others are experiencing WSD’s on a re-occurring basis. I have experienced this with different errors and multiple devices which rules out hardware issues.  Me, personally have now had 6 JVM errors between 2 devices in 3 months.  To me, that is uncalled for, and is becoming quite frustrating.  I never thought I would carry 2 devices on me, just to use one as a back up in case one all of a sudden dies, but wish I did last weekend.  That is when JVM 512 pushed me over the edge.

I was on vacation in Boston with my Fiancee and we were having a great time, she decided to leave her 9700 (she wont upgrade after seeing all my issues) at home so she wouldn’t roam and get extra charges. Between the two of us, we really only need one phone.

First night we are there, it WSD’s me, a truly annoying occurrence.  I had my laptop, but not a cable on me.  I calmly went down to the front desk and explained what I needed to the clerk, and she let me go through lost and found, an Android charger was there, and that would suffice.  A hour later, im up and running, had to incur $22 in roaming data charges because it wouldn’t register email over wifi.

I am at my tipping point after last night, 9 days later, its error-ed out again.  My latest back up on my work computer, had to wait until the morning to wipe and reload my OS and restore my info.  I do not want to leave BlackBerry and their works, as I am a loyal FanBoi…. but with these issues keep happening like any other unsatisfied customer I will have to find a solution that works for me.

It saddens me that under the pressure that they are facing to succeed and over come the adversity pounded on them by other platforms and analysts…. they are crumbling.

So it is fair to ask, when is enough ENOUGH?  When can a loyal user be pushed over the limit and forced to go to a device he/she does not want to use, but has to for stability and reliability?

Have you experienced any of these? Come across a lot of frustration with 0s 7 devices? I am really hoping there is some sort of software fix RIM will push out to fix these constant JVM errors.

If you liked this article, you might find these interesting:

• BBToday Revived? – Free Today Screen Application
• Pictures of Rogers White BlackBerry Bold 9700 and Crimson BlackBerry Pearl 9100 Dummy Units
• The History of RIM & the BlackBerry Smartphone, Part 2: The Black & White Years
• Death Calculator for BlackBerry Will Set You Back $1.99
• Rogers to Sell White BlackBerry Curve 9360 Soon

Posted by Fubaz for ©BerryReview, November 23, 2011, 4:01 pm. | When is Enough Enough? The BlackBerry 7 “White Screen of Death” | 39 comments |

I have been having a field day reading all of the articles readers have sent in today about Adobe getting out of the mobile browser Flash game. Read some of the titles and you will see what I mean:

• Necrophile RIM Promises to Keep Flash Alive on PlayBook for Some Reason Gizmodo
• RIM to forge ahead with Flash on the BlackBerry PlayBook, even if it’s dead – Engadget
• So Now What Will iPad Rivals Say in Their Commercials? – AllThingsD

All of these bloggers are harping on the fact that RIM immediately reassured Flash developers who have spent time developing for QNX and the PlayBook that they would not be left in the cold. Andry Gryc from QNX nicely points out that these bloggers seem to have missed what Adobe and RIM actually said. Adobe essentially said that it will be no longer developing Flash plugins for mobile devices for use in their browsers including Android and the PlayBook while still pushing Adobe AIR as a way to package mobile apps. What RIM responded is that they are not going to suddenly dump all of their Flash developers in the cold.

This essentially means that Flash on mobile will continue to be useful since Adobe admits that they are going to continue pushing it for desktops. That means if you want to browse on your tablet just like you do on your desktop you will need some sort of Flash. HTML5 is a strong promise and RIM CLEARLY states that:

We are excited to see Adobe focusing their efforts on HTML5, and on bringing their world class development and design expertise to HTML5 and mobile. As many of you noted, at BlackBerry DevCon Americas this year we strongly emphasized HTML5 development, and all of our platforms include best-in-breed HTML5 browsing capability, based on the WebKit engine. We believe that HTML5 is the future of mobile, and are delighted to be aligned with Adobe on this.

RIM has invested a ton of effort in HTML5 and it is a key building block of BBX. RIM is just saying that Flash will continue to be supported in its current form. All of the future improvements Adobe has planned for Flash in v12 are not intended for mobile devices. On top of that there is the Adobe AIR side of Flash that Adobe clearly says they are going to continue driving:

Our future work with Flash on mobile devices will be focused on enabling Flash developers to package native apps with Adobe AIR for all the major app stores.  We will no longer continue to develop Flash Player in the browser to work with new mobile device configurations (chipset, browser, OS version, etc.) following the upcoming release of Flash Player 11.1 for Android and BlackBerry PlayBook.  We will of course continue to provide critical bug fixes and security updates for existing device configurations.  We will also allow our source code licensees to continue working on and release their own implementations.

So are these bloggers just taking a cheap shot at RIM for essentially supporting developers and saying the same thing as Adobe? Let us know what you think in the comments!

If you liked this article, you might find these interesting:

• Adobe Clarifies Their Position on Flash, HTML5, AIR, and FLEX for Mobile
• Adobe Gives Up On Flash for Mobile for HTML5 – RIM Committed to Supporting All
• Devs: Adobe Flash Builder 4.6 Released With Native Extensions & Captive Runtime
• Adobe Promises Flash 10.1 Support This Summer
• Adobe Flash 10.2 Confirmed for the BlackBerry PlayBook

Posted by Ronen Halevy for ©BerryReview, November 10, 2011, 11:14 am. | Even When RIM Does Something Right They Still Get Hammered for it… (Adobe Flash) | 10 comments |

I am all for RIM Legal protecting the company from valid legal threats but it is starting to seem like their bonuses are based on how much they can annoy customers in the BlackBerry Beta Zone. I am not talking about them holding up projects or being in dire need of streamlining. Today the subject of my wrath is the exponentially growing list of End User License Agreements RIM’s legal department wants their customers to agree to.

Want an example? Take the latest version of BlackBerry Messenger beta that was released in the Beta Zone. Even giving RIM legal the benefit of the doubt and saying I already have an account in the Beta Zone they have a serious proliferation of user license agreements happening. First you need to agree to two licenses to join the BlackBerry Messenger beta. Then another one to download the program. Then when you fire up the app and think you are finally done you are hit with yet another license agreement. The best part? This last license agreement is so long it is the equivalent of 46 full screens of text in size 6 font!

In my head I see one user agreement as reasonable, two is a bit paranoid, but four is simply ridiculous. Multiply that by each addon program or beta and insanity ensues. I just switched to a new BlackBerry Torch today and had to accept the user license agreement when I turned on the device. I then had to accept another one for Facebook, a second for BlackBerry Messenger, a third for Twitter, and the list goes on. Signed up for that nifty new BlackBerry ID? There went another license agreement…

Its not like RIM legal actually expect people to read this stuff though they force you to scroll down through it so why do they bother? Do they gain some sense of sadistic joy in not combining all of these legal agreements into one that simply says “I agree to accept every possible way RIM can weasel out of a warranty or legal liability unless they are specifically liable according to the law of my current locality” and be done with it? I am no lawyer but I feel like RIM needs to release a new Beta Zone app that automatically accepts all license agreements for you and sends a picture of a crying puppy to legalinfo@rim.com.

These license agreements are not going to make or break RIM but they really leave quite a bit lacking in the user experience department. Considering how RIM is focusing on “streamlining operations” is it too much to ask to streamline the legal-eze?

If you liked this article, you might find these interesting:

• Behind the Scenes @ The BlackBerry Beta Zone
• RIM Opens BlackBerry Beta Zone to More Countries
• Fill Out Your BlackBerry Beta Zone Profile and Win Prizes!
• RIM Launches New BlackBerry Beta Zone!
• App World Vendor Agreements Updated for PlayBook and WebWorks…

Posted by Ronen Halevy for ©BerryReview, July 5, 2011, 10:55 am. | Dear RIM Legal, Enough with the Beta Zone User License Agreements! | 12 comments |

(insert media source) Developing Breaking Hot Exclusive Bullshit!!!

“Trusted sources and unnamed insiders reported today at Research In Motion’s Headquarters at Phillip Street in Waterloo, Ontario, that one of the back-up copiers on the fourth floor briefly jammed this morning. A sheet of paper went all “shready” while winding its way through the copier and got bungled up, causing the copier to produce error messages. Technicians were able to free the damaged paper, but it could not be salvaged and had to be ritually destroyed. An unnamed employee caught the ritual on video seen below:

Desktop Video Link | Mobile Video Link

Compounding RIM’s difficulties, the technicians got all inky-black stuff on their hands, so that soap and water had to be applied, then rinsed off, followed by a drying procedure which is believed to have involved either toweling or one of those noisy air blowers.

RIM executives have refused to comment on the incident. There is no guarantee that the copier, or conceivably other copiers at RIM, might, in the future be subject to jams. RIM’s refusal to acknowledge or address in detail this morning’s cascading catastrophe calls into further doubt, the future viability of the company.

Sorry guys I couldn’t help but post this to ease some of the anti-RIM tension building up these past few days with humor. Its almost like picking on RIM has become a contest sport in the media. PB Forever pointed out this brilliant parody thread on CrackBerry forums written by Mmcpher and I could not stop laughing… Make sure to let Mmcpher know if you enjoyed it and I really hope he doesn’t mind the publicity and my small edits.

If you liked this article, you might find these interesting:

• Funny BBM/Texting Roulette Video from College Humor
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• Official Video of the Porsche Design P’9981 by BlackBerry from RIM
• BlackBerry US Headquarters Now In Las Colinas

Posted by Ronen Halevy for ©BerryReview, June 20, 2011, 9:08 pm. | Copier Jams at RIM Headquarters! (Humor & Video) | 5 comments |

One of the most interesting parts about yesterdays earning call and fiscal stats was that RIM announced a “Cost Optimization Program” that spells bad news for some of RIM’s 17,000+ employees. Cost Optimization according to RIM will involve streamlining operations across RIM and will include a headcount reduction. While reading what RIM meant by this I could not help but think of a certain department at RIM that I always love to hate. Read RIMs goals for the Cost Optimization Program and tell me what you think:

1. Streamline operations across RIM
2. Taking out redundancies
3. Reallocation of resources to focus on high growth opportunities and strategic objectives
4. Accelerate new product introductions
5. Headcount reduction based on these changes

I have been hearing from contacts at RIM for awhile now that this sort of headcount reduction was in the cards simply to trim the non-performing departments. The thing is that every time I read that list of goals for RIM I can think of one department at RIM is notorious for running counter to all of those goals. I am sure by now you realize I mean RIM’s legal department.

While I concede that RIM’s NTP $612 million settlement was a setback it really set RIM on the wrong path. I have not heard of one project or initiative at RIM that was not held up in some way by RIM legal. When you hear RIM employees talk about the bureaucracy and red tape for a product launch or service update once again we usually have RIM legal to thank.

That makes me wonder if maybe the first department RIM should “Streamline” is their overeager legal department. Sometimes I think that department gets paid by the word to write disclaimers and user agreements in every language. I am not trying to advocate these people losing their jobs or say that all of RIM legal is expendable but that is definitely in the top three in need of streamlining. RIM seems to have three classes of lawyers. The CYA (Cover Your Ass), patent application, and litigation defense. I understand the latter two but they really need to break out of the CYA model. Its one thing to protect the company but maybe they would be better off teaching the lawyers how to develop BlackBerry apps… to accelerate new product introductions.

Feel free to discuss it more in this forum thread. Another great example of RIM legal at work is their attempts to take down www.updatemyblackberry.com which you can read about at this link.

If you liked this article, you might find these interesting:

• Turmoil as Terrorists put RIM under fire in India
• Lawyers get a taste of their own medicine…
• Useful BlackBerry Apps for Doctors, Lawyers, or Other Professionals? Let Us Know!
• RIM Mobilizes Official Support Forums – Needs to Hire a New UI Designer…
• Dear RIM Legal, Enough with the Beta Zone User License Agreements!

Posted by Ronen Halevy for ©BerryReview, June 17, 2011, 8:45 am. | Should RIM Fire the Lawyers and Hire Developers? | 18 comments |

I accidentally tempted one of our readers this week to write a poem on why RIM should give her a BlackBerry Bold 9900 now instead of making her wait. The dare worked out and Ashley whipped up a nice Ode to the BlackBerry Bold 9900 to vent a bit of her frustration. I know the feeling since I want this device in my hands now instead of later. While playing with it at BlackBerry World I could not help but feel like my dream of a 9000 style device reborn has finally come. Let us know what you think of Ashley’s late night work. Better yet see if you can top her lyrical rant.

Roses are red. Berries are Black.
Hey Rim! Where’s my 9900 at?
First it was June and now ‘late’ summer,
It’s the PlayBook allllll over again! What a bummer!

The CEO of AirAsia got that Bold u delivered,
What are the rest of us? Chopped liver?
You lead us around w/promises so sweet,
When will you give us the fruit of these leaks?

Every day I stay tuned to the BerryReview,
Hoping they’ll tell us u’ve released the Bold (and Torch2?)
You dazzled us with specs as far as the eye could see,
Seduced us w/ talk of BlackBerry Balance and NFC,

You taunt us and tease us w/glimpses of Heaven,
But will we EVER really get to see OS 7?
What are you waiting for? QNX?
If so, YOU’LL need that BlackBerry Protect.

Stocks plummet and consumer ratings fall,
The 9900 a cure for it all?
For sure it’ll make my heart jump for joy,
I’ll coddle it and support it like my own baby boy.

Feed it upgrades of the ‘official’ sort,
So much potential, the ball’s in YOUR court.
The people are waiting. Ready. Willing. And Able
Put the Dakota in our hands, prove it’s not just a fable,

So, dear RIM, what do ya say?
Free the 9900 from your clutches and send it our way?
Roses are red, Berries are Black!
Hey RIM where’s MY 9900 at?

img via pw0nd

If you liked this article, you might find these interesting:

• BlackBerry Bold 9980 R47 Caught Fraternizing with a Bold 9900
• AT&T BlackBerry Bold 9900 Now Available!
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• T-Mobile BlackBerry Bold 9900 Getting UMA Wi-Fi Calling in November

Posted by Ronen Halevy for ©BerryReview, June 14, 2011, 10:55 am. | Ode to the BlackBerry Bold 9900 (aka: Dear RIM, wtf?!) | 35 comments |

Skype has been spotted in App World for PlayBook. Tashanna let us know that bbnews.pl somehow obtained this picture of App World running on a PlayBook. I was under the impression that App World for PlayBook was highly classified.

This is the first official looking picture I’ve seen of App World on the PlayBook. It looks good. All except for the price tag on Skype…$2.99?! First of all, did Skype forget that $2.99 is no longer the minimum paid price for apps? Secondly did Skype forget that Skype IS NOT A PAID APP?! Unless this version comes with premium features like Skype to non-Skype calls, I cannot figure out how this is justified.

Skype is definitely free for the iPhone, iPod and iPad. Android users also don’t have to pay.

Ronen posted an article with the picture below from CES back in January about the possibility of seeing Skype on the PlayBook. It has since been discovered that this picture is in fact a mockup. But notice the FREE price here.

I am hoping against hope that the $2.99 price is due to the fact that App World for PlayBook is still (somehow) top secret and in the developmental stages. Say it ain’t so!

What do you think?

Thanks again Tashanna for sending this in!

If you liked this article, you might find these interesting:

• App World Spotted on BlackBerry PlayBook Featuring Skype App
• Skype Mobile Client for Verizon Updated to v1.4.0.7
• Skype Mobile Now Available for Six Verizon BlackBerrys
• IM+ for Skype 50% Off Today Only – $14.97
• Hot ! Skype Beta app for the Storm leaked.

Posted by jforce for ©BerryReview, April 7, 2011, 6:22 pm. | Skype Found in App World for PlayBook for $2.99? | 31 comments |

Then we turn around and engage in a variation of the same stereotyping ourselves, in the discussions we participate in every day.  Some examples:

• iSheep only buy iPhones because they’re brainwashed.
• People only use BlackBerry because they’re required to by work.
• Fandroids are all geeks who only care about specs.
• And universally:  you’re such a fanboy/girl. (Many variants of this are seen in response to a comment about why someone likes a feature.)

But I’ve noticed a pattern across different enthusiast sites.  People will hotly repudiate these characterizations of themselves.  Yet even as they do this, they continue to characterize the “opponent” enthusiasts in the same negative light that they don’t want cast on themselves.

You can see it at any mobile enthusiast site: BGR, Crackberry, BerryReview, AndroidCentral, TiPb and many more.

Consider:

• Very few people reading these enthusiast sites are “typical device users” – because typical device users seldom find themselves at enthusiast sites.   Let’s face it – if we’re here regularly, we’re at least a little obsessed with the subject matter.   To us, our phone is NOT just a tool for getting things done – it’s a personal relationship, no matter which type of phone you prefer.
• The people who comment on enthusiast sites are even further from the typical device user — just by virtue of the fact that they’re commenting on an enthusiast site.
• With very rare exception, these devices are not marketed to the enthusiast.  We buy on loyalty (our conviction that our platform is better),  features, and specs.  The target consumer buys based price, appearance, perceived functionality [appearance part 2], what their friends have [app. part 3],   and user experience [app. part 4].

If you look at Apple, do you honestly believe that millions and millions of customers buy their devices because Steve Jobs appeared to them in a dream  – with turtleneck and halo — and told them to drink the Kool-Aid?

Or that all the millions of Android purchasers really don’t care about anything but hardware specs? Based on at least on my own experience observing people in stores, I’m comfortable in saying that most of them aren’t even *aware* of the hardware specs.

If you do believe that (or some slightly less obvious version of the same), why?  Do you only like your BlackBerry because you’re required to have it for work?

To most people, a smartphone is a smartphone.  It’s a tool for making calls, playing games, sending messages.  They don’t use but a fraction of what it’s  capable of.  And the phone that does that best (as determined by perceptions based on marketing and friends) is the one that they pick.

Even though many stereotypes have a kernel of truth, the majority of stereotypes don’t apply to the majority of people they’re used to label.  If you find that a stereotype doesn’t apply to you, there’s a fair chance that its counterpart doesn’t apply to the guy you’re arguing with.

When people start identifying themselves not just with, but as their phones (eg: I’m an Android, I’m a BlackBerry, I’m an iPhone) it may be time to take a step back for a fresh breath of perspective.  Paradoxically, the behavior of these individuals often reinforces the stereotypes that they hate having applied to them.

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Posted by marc.paradise for ©BerryReview, April 4, 2011, 5:57 pm. | Typical Users of ______ Devices | 17 comments |

I was out at the mall yesterday, and happened to run in to an old classmate from college at the Bell store, and saw him looking at a 9780 and an Atrix.  I immediately had to go and talk to him and ask what his needs and wants were for the phone, and whipped out my 9700.  I obviously told him about all the pro’s and how I have had my 9700 since release and it’s been flawless, and the 9780 was an upgraded version of my great phone.  How OS6 has made the BlackBerry a more competitive smartphone, and the push technology makes them excellent communication devices.  Now the Atrix is a good phone as well, but showing him hands on how my 9700 worked helped him seeing the phone first hand.

I didn’t stick around to see what his decision was, but later on Facebook I got a pm with his PIN, and with this I am asking, has your BlackBerry knowledge and addiction influenced people around you to get a BlackBerry, theme, apps or accessories?  I know that I now have siblings, friends, and extended family addicted… do you?

Also, with the launch of the PlayBook, have you swayed people to hold off on a tablet purchase? Have you examined the strengths and weaknesses of the PlayBook versus the Ipad (1 and 2) as well as the many Android tablets becoming available. Have you adapted to the mentality that the PlayBook is for everyone, even though RIM is pushing it as the first business oriented tablet, seeing how many of us adopted BlackBerry’s for personal devices while they are mainly business oriented.

Note: There is a poll embedded within this post, please visit the site to participate in this post’s poll.

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Posted by Fubaz for ©BerryReview, March 30, 2011, 4:04 pm. | Poll: Does your BlackBerry Knowledge Influence the People Around You? | 13 comments |

I am always amazed when analysts and reporters love to open their mouths to prepare for more “foot” to be shoved in. For the last month or two we have been hearing non stop tirades on how the upcoming BlackBerry PlayBook will be a non starter and pales when pitted against the competition. I see it over and over again and it dismayed that some people are so set against a device that has the potential to actually redefine the tablet market. (and the smartphone market with the QNX OS)

Lets take the most common reasons haters cite as to why the PlayBook will fail miserably.

1. The BlackBerry PlayBook doesn’t have a significant number of apps…
2. It costs the same as an iPad
3. It does not have a native email client at launch (Requires a BlackBerry for Bridging)

Lack of PlayBook apps

More often than not I hear about how the PlayBook does not have enough apps to compare against the iPad and Android Honeycomb builds. First of all lets set the stage a bit. What market is the BlackBerry PlayBook targeted at? A smartphone companion or a laptop replacement? I asked many iPad users and to them it almost always is defined as a sub-$800 laptop replacement or alternative. So that got me thinking. How many apps do you have installed on your laptop that you would want on a tablet?

As I pointed out before, most of the things I do on my laptop are in the browser. For example, right now I have 40+ tabs open in FireFox. The thing is that almost half of them are “Apps” that will work like a charm on the BlackBerry PlayBook. Trust me I tried them. Here are some examples:

• Two Google Apps email accounts and One Gmail account
• Gmail Calendar
• Facebook
• Twitter
• Google Reader
• Chartbeat
• Pandora
• Youtube/Vimeo
• WordPress
• Google Analytics
• Google Adsense

So essentially every website that uses Flash is an “app” that is unnecessary on the BlackBerry PlayBook. There might be a benefit for some things to be pulled into an app but WHY compromise? It seems like everybody has forgotten that Apple’s iPad is missing the most popular app on the web. Namely Flash. While Android has Flash it is not available built into the native OS. According to RIM that is 1.6 million more Flash website “apps” that are unavailable on the iPad.

On top of that RIM has taken a shotgun approach to development on the BlackBerry PlayBook. The BlackBerry PlayBook currently supports Adobe AIR/Flash and WebWorks (HTML/CSS/JavaScript) for development. They have also announced an upcoming Java and Android app player “sandbox” along with a native C/C++ SDK. That is FIVE different development environments to entice developers. RIM is banking on that to bring in the apps.

The PlayBook costs the same as the iPad

This one puzzles me. RIM is the first grade-A tablet maker that has a Tablet priced anywhere near the iPad. It matches it almost dollar for dollar without carrier subsidies. Except for the screen size, which makes it more portable, the iPad stacks up nicely against the PlayBook with each winning in different areas. Don’t get me wrong RIM could sell more if it was priced at $300 but then they would be losing money and undervaluing their own product.

In short it is the same price or even less because you can use coupons on the BlackBerry PlayBook at retailers and the prices are only MSRP. That means they will go down while the iPad will remain $499+ until next year.

It does not have a native email client (BlackBerry Bridge)

I am really curious to know how many consumers out there have a native email client on their desktop or laptop? I only use Outlook at the office because of its Exchange features but other than that I exclusively use Gmail and Google Apps. RIM made a compromise and simply allowed you to view your BlackBerry Smartphones email from your PlayBook. An interesting idea and a real win for businesses that cannot justify paying for another data plan just to get email, calendar, contacts, and other data on a business tablet.

That means that many companies can deploy the PlayBook along with a BlackBerry as a value proposition. They can use the device over Wi-Fi regularly but access their email, contacts, and calendar on a bigger screen. We know RIM is bringing a native email client in the future but I would rather them get it right since there is a reason I don’t use Outlook for my Gmail and Google Apps accounts.

I would actually flip this lack of native email complaint on its head. The BlackBerry PlayBook is the only tablet that gives you access to email, contacts, calendar, BBM and more without a data plan for your tablet. The BlackBerry PlayBook is also the only tablet to ship with a built in Word, PowerPoint, and Excel application along with a PDF reader. That same suite costs $30+ on an iPad from Apple…

Conclusion

In short I think RIM has a solid offering with the BlackBerry PlayBook. It is really sad to see people hating on the device for nitpicky reasons without seeing the future potential for RIM. This is a long game for RIM. They plan on consistently adding functionality to the PlayBook. For example, the Android apps and Java apps player will be coming in the summer. They will also be releasing a native email client, gaming engine, C/C++ SDK, 3G and 4G variants, and more as a constant evolution.

In short the BlackBerry PlayBook has some serious potential. It offers features and speed that can only be dreamed of on other platforms with an OS that has been around longer than Windows and designed by a company that defined mobile productivity. After stagnating a bit in the mobile OS RIM has brought a gun to the gun fight with the BlackBerry PlayBook and it’s main competitor is essentially running a smartphone OS on a bigger screen. I got a chance to play with the BlackBerry PlayBook quite a few times until now and I cannot wait to finally take one home!

Let me know what you think!

PS: Expect a follow up article on why I think you should choose the BlackBerry PlayBook over competitors like the iPad. Once you set it down in an easy to consume format you start seeing things like “no iTunes required” and native Flash support.

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Posted by Ronen Halevy for ©BerryReview, March 25, 2011, 12:23 pm. | Dear BlackBerry PlayBook Haters, Stop Drinking the Kool-Aid | 163 comments |

Over the past few months I have seen more and more eBooks accepted into App World and I am not sure what to make of it. I just checked the Reference & eBooks section of App World is now the LARGEST category of “apps” in App eBook World. It has more than doubled (it was 2661 now 6100) since I last checked in October of 2010. At first I thought it could not hurt to have eBooks in App World but RIM really needs to quality control these submissions. Its not like we are seeing bestsellers available in app form. I decided to do some digging into the influx of eBooks and found something disturbing…

One developer, For-Side.com Co. Ltd., has 4358 “apps” in App World (vendor link seems to be from Tokyo). Keep in mind App World has 20,057 total “Apps” as of when this article was published. I would not mind if these apps were actually good but they seem like spam. From the selection I have checked most of the eBook “Apps” from For-Side look like out of print public domain eBooks that you can find on many websites free like Project Gutenberg.

It gets even more annoying once you realize that many of these books are actually the same book split up into multiple “Apps.” For example, we have Mark Twain’s “Following the Equator” split up into 8 different apps. We also have eBooks like “A Popular History of Ireland : from the Earliest Period to the Emancipation of the Catholics” both in one complete “app” and again split up into two parts.

RIM is not the only App Store to have such a problem with spamware/crapware but for RIM 90% of it seems to be coming from one developer. At first I thought the “Apps” were mostly free but only about 130 of them are free. The remaining 4230 are all paid “Apps” with the most popular being An Unsocial Socialist for $2.99 which is public domain and free on Project Gutenberg.

What I really wish RIM would do is create a free ePub, a free and open e-book standard, reader for BlackBerry that can simply download these works from Project Gutenberg. If not RIM they maybe they could simply help Keeper promote his free beta BePub ePub reader. It would be time better spent on RIM’s part and could be more popular than the relatively unnecessary BlackBerry Radio app.

So what do you think? Do eBooks have a place as separate apps in App World? How about charging money for Public Domain eBooks? Should one developer have more than four thousand apps? Let us know in the comments!

PS: There are a few other sources for free eBooks online like Kobo, Amazon Kindle, and MobiPocket (now owned by Amazon)

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Posted by Ronen Halevy for ©BerryReview, February 25, 2011, 10:38 am. | One Developer Has 4300+ “Apps” in BlackBerry App World! | 28 comments |

Any hardcore BlackBerry user can tell you that updates in App World are ridiculously slow. This is simply mind blowing for a company that prides itself in push communications. A developer friend of mine sent me over a link to a RIM document that explains why App World updates are so pitifully slow. It just blows my mind that it can take 7+ days from when a developer posts an update for an app until when it appears in App World for everybody.

RIM’s servers cache data for 24 hours. That means after a developer posts an app in App World it can take up to 24 HOURS for it to appear for anybody! It gets even crazier when you add on the ridiculous “client cache” which is set for a even more ridiculous 7 days. That means when a developer makes a modification or maintenance update for an existing app it can take up to 7 DAYS for all users to see the upgraded release, new or changed screenshots, or new icons.

The best part is RIM’s disclaimer at the bottom of their explanation:

Currently, there is no way to clear the cache or expedite these timings.

Oh and to make things even better once a developer submits an app it can take 8-10 business days from when the app is submitted until it is approved. The thing is even if these numbers are the exception instead of the rule it is mind blowing that App World is designed to be slower than the US Postal Service! Who in their right mind would thing it is acceptable for it to take up to 7 days for all users to be notified of an update? Did RIM never hear of selective cache purging? We know they use Akamai for caching and I know for a fact that Akamai offers them the ability to selectively purge cache items. I always thought that these slow updates were the exception but the fact that RIM thinks a 7 day cache period is normal is just plain…

I am still at a loss for how RIM can explain their 7 day cache period so I wont digress. Please wait up to 7 business days before commenting on this article… I am hoping RIM sees the error of their ways and at least sets a slightly less ridiculous cache period like 12 hours.

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Posted by Ronen Halevy for ©BerryReview, February 23, 2011, 6:06 pm. | An Explanation From RIM on Why App World Updates are SLOW | 28 comments |

Despite being an analyst for Kaufman Bros. Wu’s record is actually quite poor. Daring Fireball’s John Gruber has publically dismissed him, and macstories.net has described him as having “a history for being wrong”, and for sounding “pretty confused”. But even if you ignore the messenger there is plenty to find wrong with the argument.

The first main point against battery life is that Flash is a memory hog, and is the only point with some merit behind it. Flash is not known as being resource friendly, but that does not apply to the AIR platform, and is only really applicable when actually using Flash. A number of Android devices have had Flash on them now without causing battery life to suffer anywhere near extent that is claimed.

Another of Wu’s arguments is that RIM’s implementation of the power management system is not up to par with Apple’s. Obviously RIM has stated that they haven’t even implemented theirs yet, but even then RIM’s track record speaks for itself. When it comes to smartphones, BlackBerry has consistently gotten better battery life then Apple and Samsung, and there is no reason not to expect that experience to transfer over to tablets. RIM has always taken pride in their efficiency, and a new OS is not going to change that.

The final argument is the QNX is not designed for mobile devices. While this is technically true, the same could be said for the Linux that Android is based off of or Mac OSX which is the basis for Apple’s iOS. In fact the QNX system is almost perfect for mobile devices. QNX has a micro-kernal design that can run on a RISC based architecture, and is designed for embedded devices. You can not ask for a more battery friendly core then that.

Wu also chooses to ignore the reasons why battery life will not be an issue. Downloading and uploading data over the 3G network causes more battery drain then using wi-fi, recording video, running flash, or ever playing back HD video. Yet this is one potential battery drain that will not be an issue.

The final and most important point is that the PlayBook will be a low heat device. Back in early October I explained why this would not be an issue.

One of the reasons why people are worried about the battery life is because of the PlayBook’s impressive processing power. The specs indicate the kind of processing that usually requires a 4-inch heat sink and a few fans to cool off. Instead however they have placed all of this technology inside a 9.7mm shell. This implies that they have solved the heat problem, and if the heat problem is solved it is low power, and if it is low power it will minimize strain on the battery.

As a low-power low-heat device the BlackBerry PlayBook will also be kind to your battery.

Let us know what you think!

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Posted by Eric at Ebscer for ©BerryReview, January 4, 2011, 4:44 pm. | Why NOT to Worry About the PlayBook’s Battery Life | 21 comments |

If you have been reading BerryReview for even a few weeks you will know I appreciate a good rant. I missed this beautiful rant by Jim Balsillie in answer to a well worded question by Rod Hall of JP Morgan during the RIM earnings call tonight. Dan Frommer over at Business Insider has done a great job of transcribing it at this link. In short Rod asks Jim how RIM is going to make people believe that they can move to the head of the innovation pack instead of simply playing catch up.

Like most of Jim’s rants this one is mostly coherent with him only getting lost a few times. It is almost like a stream of consciousness and has some great points that get lost in the confusion. The first part of Jim’s answer is so great because it is exactly the direction RIM is moving with BlackBerry but are only half baked in the current BlackBerry 6 implementations. Jim goes on to praise how RIM is “redefining what a tablet should do” by pointing out things that are going to make the RIM PlayBook stick out.

• Rapid Desire for High Performance – seriously these are Jim’s words not mine! On one hand he touts how the PlayBook will trump the competition with high performance yet the flagship BlackBerry Torch is running a 2+ year old processor. The PlayBook will finally be the death of the BlackBerry hourglass. Hopefully RIM does not even have to add an hourglass at all! My other aim for the PlayBook is never having to reboot…
• Web Fidelity will hopefully bring a full on desktop browser to the BlackBerry PlayBook. While BlackBerry 6 also has a WebKit browser if you try to do anything complex with HTML5 like WebSQL then the whole thing chokes and dies. These are technologies that work just fine on a iOS or Android device.
• A non proprietary SDK and Tool Familiarity – (At least non proprietary to RIM in the case of Flash). The current BlackBerry OS SDK has plugins for Eclipse but is still mostly a black hole. RIM is working on the BlackBerry Development tools and they are making headway but they are nowhere near as easy to use as other mobile platforms. Now if only RIM would remove the frustrating code signing requirement.

Now can we get a lot of all three in my BlackBerry Torch? I would even just settle for high performance.

You really should read the rest of the unofficial transcript over at Business Insider or you can listen to the whole thing on RIM’s website at this link.

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Posted by Ronen Halevy for ©BerryReview, December 16, 2010, 10:41 pm. | Jim Balsillie Goes “Over The Top” Answering Earnings Call Question | 6 comments |

Notifications of application updates takes days if not weeks to reach everybody. Every day we get tips from readers letting us know that they just received an App World update notification for an app that was update days or weeks before. It just simply does not make sense for RIM to not use their own Push API to push out these updates within SECONDS of the app being updated. That is the main purpose of a push API. This leads me to my next frustration.

App World updates are staggered so that one user may see an update that is not available to another user. I have heard a few reasons from friends at RIM as to why this is the case but they just don’t make sense. First of all RIM never had this concept of staggered updates before. When they released a BlackBerry Messenger or Google Talk update before App World everybody downloaded it ASAP. Same thing with OS updates. Now that App World is growing strong shouldn’t we be able to do the same thing? RIM is already using Akamai as a CDN to serve this content so it is not like RIM’s servers will get hammered with millions of requests. Akamai can handle the traffic just like they do for more demanding clients than RIM.

So some of you may say that the reason they stagger the updates is in case there are any issues they can resolve them before it hits critical mass. Well it has been almost 2 years and that has never happened as far as I can know except for the update to BlackBerry Messenger 5.0. Still RIM never fixed that issue and just told users to update their OS and backup before upgrading. So why bother?

This delayed update also causes issues with developers who have to wait hours or sometimes over a day for their app or update to appear for all users. I am not sure what takes RIM’s servers so long to propagate an update. I can understand that the content might be cached on edge servers but they could always make it revalidate or simply invalidate the cache of that one app page when an app is updated.

This same concept of caching updates is also a problem on the BlackBerry App World client. We mentioned before that RIM has finally officially detailed the shortcut for refreshing the App World catalog cache on your device. Still wouldn’t it be great if we didn’t have to do that. This App World cache is probably already cached on RIM’s Akamai cache so would it really kill RIM to just make a quick cache-control or expires header check on that cache?

All of these frustrations can all be seen clearly if I describe to you how I wish/dream App World worked. When a new version of Google Talk for BlackBerry comes out I (along with EVERY other BlackBerry user) should receive a popup notification from App World within 5 minutes (hour max). I would then be able to click on that notification and download it immediately…

So what do you think are the chances of my dream coming true?

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Posted by Ronen Halevy for ©BerryReview, December 3, 2010, 10:00 am. | RANT! App World Update Notifications Slower Than Snail Mail | 22 comments |

If you lose your signal, this app gets it back in one-touch! If your radio reception is bad, get it boosted with SignalBooster!

We know that memory boosters and battery boosters are must have apps for BlackBerry. They manage to make the Top 10 paid apps list in App World every month so somebody has to be buying them. The problem is that they usually don’t “Boost” or “Optimize” anything other than the speed of money transferring from your pocket into their pocket. The thing that blows my mind is that RIM not only doesn’t bother protecting their customers from these scams.

I have spoken to many developers and RIM engineers and they can not think of one thing that these apps could possibly “Boost” or “Optimize”. They just perform unnecessary/redundant calls to the JVM garbage collector and other such nonsense while actually taking up more of your memory, eating your battery, AND in SignalBooster they throw in some snakeoil for free! Don’t get me wrong these booster/optimizer apps are all over other app stores like the Android Market but I really would wish that RIM finally came out and said what they already know. If a simple 100kb app could actually boost or optimize your memory/battery/signal then RIM would have paid MILLIONS of dollars for the app and built it into the BlackBerry OS. The reason they have not is because these apps are worse than useless!

So back to SignalBooster. This app just makes me think that cell phone users did not learn their lesson from the Antenna Booster Sticker scams of yesteryear. I have nothing against S4BB since they make some pretty decent apps but this is just getting ridiculous. Just read the features of SignalBooster:

• Optimizes BlackBerry radio usage.
• No device reset required. Therefore a lot faster than everything else!
• No new hardware: Software only solution. No additional hardware needed! Does not influence any other applications.
• Instant feedback on radio reception gain.
• How it works: by clicking the "Boost Signal!" button your voice, data and Internet connections are being reset. The best possible reception is chosen for the new signal and then all your connections come up again automatically. You will see a summary dialog of what just happened and how much performance you gained.

From the description it seems like the app tears down your internet connection and reestablishes it. I could have sworn there was a button for that prominently featured in the BlackBerry menu… Just turn off data services. If you REALLY need an app to do that they you can pick up the FREE Restart Net app from CompactByte.

So what do you think of these Boosters/Optimizers? Personally I am just annoyed at RIM for being a party to selling what amounts to snake oil in App World. What do you think?

Oh and how could I forget? I am waiting for RIM to approve my “Brooklyn Bridge for Sale” app in App World…

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Posted by Ronen Halevy for ©BerryReview, November 23, 2010, 8:55 am. | Guess What SignalBooster For BlackBerry Does?!? | 15 comments |

I happened to be running a wireless update for my BlackBerry Torch 9800 yesterday and noticed that RIM already has such a utility. When you perform a wireless update your BlackBerry performs an on device backup and then a restore once the OS is updated! Why can’t we just get this same functionality minus the wireless update? Is that asking too much? Most of the development work is practically done already!

It would really solve the problem of most BlackBerry users when they screw up or brick their device if there was a daily backup stored on their SD card. It would then be easy to restore to a set point in time with no data loss. BlackBerry Protect is perfect for a lost or stolen phone but it does not backup your other information like your custom AutoTexts or your password safe. Some of you might say that it would be a security risk to allow for on device backups but I don’t see how it is any different from backups done on a desktop which creates files that are vulnerable to brute force attacks. At the very least just release it and setup an IT policy which lets BES admins block the utility.

What do you think? Would an on device backup utility have saved you from a previous BlackBerry data loss disaster?

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Posted by Ronen Halevy for ©BerryReview, October 22, 2010, 8:04 pm. | RANT! Why Can’t RIM Release an On-Device Backup Utility? | 5 comments |

Let me give you a scenario where this happens:

You purchased a BlackBerry 9000 from AT&T a few years back and then decide to switch to T-Mobile. If you don’t call up AT&T and sit on the phone with them for over an hour to delete your BIS account then your BlackBerry will remain tied to AT&T’s BIS. This will make it impossible to now associate the BlackBerry with T-Mobile’s BIS. Or better yet say you buy a used BlackBerry 9100 from someone in Australia you would be in a world of pain trying to get that BlackBerry disassociated.

Way back when it used to be that you could just login to your old BIS account and just enter in zeros for the PIN and IMEI and it would disassociate the device but that no longer works. As far as I know RIM customer support are currently the only ones that can disassociate a device from a carriers BIS. You would have to call that carrier and drive them nuts until they decide to escalate the issue to RIM to have your device disassociated. I have done this 3 times already and every time it took over an hour.

RIM even admits that you will have to call you carrier to get the device disassociated in the instructions of what to do when you want to sell a BlackBerry. In their words:

If the BlackBerry smartphone was previously associated with a BlackBerry Internet Service account, contact the wireless service provider to remove the association between the BlackBerry Internet Service account and the BlackBerry smartphone.

Would it kill RIM to just add a “Clear association” or better yet a “Delete my BIS account” button?

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Posted by Ronen Halevy for ©BerryReview, July 28, 2010, 8:55 pm. | RANT! Why Can’t RIM Let Us Delete Our BIS Account? | 12 comments |

There are two ways you I can interpret this:

1. It could be that the BlackBerry OS is fine but the problem is the perception users have. The fact that so many users believe the BlackBerry OS needs a memory booster speaks for itself. I drank the Kool-aid at WES and do believe that BlackBerry 6 (the upcoming BlackBerry OS) might improve users perception of the BlackBerry OS but this fact should speak volumes to RIM.
2. Alternatively one could postulate that there is a critical issue with the BlackBerry OS. It could be that a huge number of users find is fixed by an application that probably does nothing other than a regular cleanup of Java virtual machine memory or providing you some basic statistics about your usage. Maybe it is just an immediate way to run a cleanup… Either way you can do a better job manually performing actions like deleting unused applications and lowering log lengths than any app could possibly perform.

I tend to believe the first but it blows my mind that the number one selling app in RIM’s own App World attempts to fix a problem with the BlackBerry OS. It could be this app is totally useless but if that many users think it is necessary RIM has a serious problem. I have tried to get RIM to come out and explain that Memory Boosters do nothing for performance with no luck. If the memory boosters DO work then it is inconceivable that RIM has not purchased/licensed the code for it (or replicated it) and implemented it in the BlackBerry OS. If it doesn’t work RIM is openly letting thousands of their customers get screwed out of their money by buying a useless application. I know that a main source of memory problems for the BlackBerry OS stems from poorly coded applications with memory leaks but that still reflects badly for RIM and customers perception of their product.

So what do you think?

If you liked this article, you might find these interesting:

• RANT! RIM & Facebook Annoying BlackBerry Users
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Posted by Ronen Halevy for ©BerryReview, May 10, 2010, 9:55 am. | RANT! RIM Has A Perception Problem With the BlackBerry OS… | 16 comments |

This is the reason that I think beta zones cannot be wrapped with all the red tape RIM has surrounded the program with. It makes them useless for anything other than a marketing ploy. RIM already has a HUGE beta zone with every user who installs a BlackBerry OS Beta leak yet they refuse to acknowledge those users.

Personally I think they would just be better off releasing the betas of everything publicly without 15 pages of red tape… What do you think? The crazy part is that I know quite a few BlackBerry users who would PAY to get their hands on the latest beta even if it was FULL of bugs.

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Posted by Ronen Halevy for ©BerryReview, April 8, 2010, 5:45 pm. | BlackBerry Beta Zone Falls Behind Public Releases? | 6 comments |